Citation Nr: 0510851
Decision Date: 04/15/05 Archive Date: 04/27/05
DOCKET NO. 04-06 323 ) DATE
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On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
Regional Office (RO) in Waco, Texas
THE ISSUE
Entitlement to service connection for a right leg disability.
REPRESENTATION
Appellant represented by: Disabled American Veterans
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD
K. Osborne, Senior Counsel
INTRODUCTION
The veteran had active military service from June 1960 to
June 1962. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans'
Appeals (Board) on appeal from a September 2003 rating
decision by the RO which denied service connection for a
right leg.
The appeal is REMANDED to the RO via the Appeals Management
Center (AMC), in Washington, DC. VA will notify you if
further action is required on your part.
REMAND
The veteran contends that his right leg disability, including
peripheral vascular disease, is related to his service-
connected Osgood-Schlatter's disease. The veteran was
scheduled for a VA examination. In the September 2003 VA
examination report, the examiner opined that it was less
likely than not that the current knee is related to his 40-
year old Osgood-Schlatter's diagnosis. He explained that
this was usually a self-limiting disease and that he believed
that his condition would be related to degenerative arthritis
and previous vascular surgery. This opinion does not
specifically address whether the veteran has a right leg
disability, to specifically include peripheral vascular
disease due to the service-connected Osgood-Schlatter's
disease. Rather, the examiner's opinion appears to pertain
to the etiology of the veteran's current knee disability.
Given the foregoing, the veteran should be scheduled for a VA
examination, to include an adequate opinion.
In view of the foregoing, the case is REMANDED for the
following:
1. Schedule the veteran for a VA
examination for the purpose of
determining the etiology of any right leg
disability, to include peripheral
vascular disease. The examiner should
specifically list all disabilities of the
right leg. The examiner should then give
an opinion as to whether any disability
of the right leg was caused by the
veteran's service-connected Osgood-
Schlatter's disease or whether the
service-connected condition aggravated
any right leg disability. The examiner
should give a complete rationale for all
opinions given. The claims file should be
made available to and reviewed by the
examiner. The examiner should indicate
whether he/she has reviewed the veteran's
records.
2. After the foregoing, the RO should
review the veteran's claim. If the
determination is adverse to the veteran,
he and his representative should be
provided an appropriate supplemental
statement of the case and given an
opportunity to respond.
Thereafter, the case should be returned to the Board for
further appellate consideration, if appropriate. The veteran
need take no action until he is notified. The Board
intimates no opinion, either factual or legal, as to the
ultimate conclusion warranted in this case.
The appellant has the right to submit additional evidence and
argument on the matter or matters the Board has remanded.
Kutscherousky v. West, 12 Vet. App. 369 (1999).
This claim must be afforded expeditious treatment. The law
requires that all claims that are remanded by the Board of
Veterans' Appeals or by the United States Court of Appeals
for Veterans Claims for additional development or other
appropriate action must be handled in an expeditious manner.
See The Veterans Benefits Act of 2003, Pub. L. No. 108-183, §
707(a), (b), 117 Stat. 2651 (2003) (to be codified at 38
U.S.C. §§ 5109B, 7112).
_________________________________________________
K. OSBORNE
Acting Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals
Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 2002), only a decision of the
Board of Veterans' Appeals is appealable to the United States
Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. This remand is in the
nature of a preliminary order and does not constitute a
decision of the Board on the merits of your appeal.
38 C.F.R. § 20.1100(b) (2004).